Spiderman

Since it would be nigh on impossible to discuss what could happen to Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man sequel without discussing what actually happens to Gwen Stacy in the Spider-Man comics, I’ll warn you this post contains spoilers. Of course, these are 40 year old spoilers, but I’m trying to be nice and not ruin it for folks who maybe haven’t read up on all of Spider-Man’s past.

So what does happen to Gwen Stacy in the comics? She dies, in one of the most heart wrenching deaths in comics. Thrown off a bridge by the Green Goblin, Peter attempts to save her by casting his webs and grabs her foot, in the process snapping her neck from the sudden stop. Her death is a especially remarkable because she’s also managed to stay dead. Something comic book fans should know is basically impossible to achieve.

With the rebooted Amazing Spider-Man movie choosing Stacy over Mary Jane as Peter’s love interest, everyone assumed this would be the story we’d see play out between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Not so, as come the end of Amazing Spider-Man, Stacy was still alive and no mention had been made of the Green Goblin. Naturally, the sequel would explore this tragedy, right?

Maybe. Dane DeHaan has been cast as Harry Osborn and, in a minor role, Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, so it would seem the pieces are being set for Stacy’s tragic fall. But when asked by MTV News about the possibility Stacy would die in the sequel, Stone replied, “Will she? Is it up to you? Did you write the script? Did you ghost-write the script?“

In the past, Stone has been quite open and upfront about discussing her character’s assumed eventual fate and showed a willingness to stick to the original premise. What’s changed her mind? Will the movies take a different route and leave Stacy alive, or is she for sure being killed off and that’s why Stone is keeping mum? Will they follow the death as its laid out in the comics or come up with something new? Let us know what you think.

In a tweet earlier today director Marc Webb revealed who will be Peter Parker’s frenemy, Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Dane Dehaan, the star of this year’s pseudo-superhero flick, Chronicle, has been cast beating out other likely candidates Sam Claflin, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Boyd Holbrook, Brady Corbet, and Alden Ehrenreich. Which is quite the lineup of young, Hollywood hunks, all of whom I’ve never heard of before. So congrats, Dane, because of your casting as the young Osborn and maybe, eventual Green Goblin, your existence is no longer oblivious to me.

Think they’ll play with the expected outcome and have Harry’s Green Goblin be the one who [REDACTED] Emma Stone‘s Gwen Stacy? It would surely cause one angst-ridden falling out between him and Andrew Garfield‘s Peter.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is expected for a May 2, 2014 release. Below the cut you’ll find the official press release for the casting.

I try to not indulge in Amazing Spider-Man news. I hated Marc Webb‘s reboot. It was the worst iteration of Spider-Man ever.

EDITORS NOTE: There’s an news article in here somewhere, I just felt the need to get a little ranty. Join the conversation, or skip my diatribe and jump straight to the news.

The plot was a mess and did not work. Need I mention the dropped sub plot regarding Parker’s dead parents?

Spidey’s motocross inspired costume was fugly as fuck – and why did he take his mask off every 5 minutes revealing his identity to everybody? (Couldn’t he breathe in that thing?)

The lizard looked like a Goomba from Mario Bros, but hey, at least the Goomba had more convincing motivations. Lizard/Connors was such a cookie cutter villain, it wasn’t even funny. Denis Leary made a better villain as Gwen Stacy’s hard-ass daddy.

How about the sloppy writing? Like, for example, that scene where Parker catches a football and chucks it at a goal post 100 yards away, bends it in half, and the entire football team ignores the super human feat? Oh, never mind. I forgot, he took his mask off 50 times by this point. Entire population of NY knows he’s Spider-Man, and they are cool with it. Let’s not forget about Gwen. Blondy is in high-school for Christ sake and she is lead intern to the worlds foremost genetics lab? Alright, I’ll let that one pass. But, explain to me how Dr. Connors spent a lifetime creating his tissue regrowth formula, but Gwen is able to decode and make anti lizard spores in 5 minutes, on top of a sky scraper? Is Gwen super smart, or was Connors just an overly funded half-whit?

Let’s talk about the complete and utter disregard to Spider-Man as a comic book character, shall we? SM/Parker is meant to be a social outcast, loser, who seeks love and belonging and eventually becomes a hero. NOT some hipster heart-throb who skates around the neighborhood questioning his identity. Speaking of which, you have the ability to climb walls, and made web shooters to swing from… why the fuck are you skating!?

The movie had issues. Too many for me to cope with. I’m appalled at the thought of a sequel. But, a sequel they will make.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (or whatever they’re going to call it) is gearing up in fact. The plot has been teased, villains speculated about, and costume changes have been addressed.

Adding to the discussion is Stan Lee (the all father of comics) and director Marc Webb. They talk about exploring more of Peter Parker’s universe, as well as the promise of answered question about his parents. Watch the video below.

In other SM2 news, a bearded Andrew Garfield was on the Ellen DeGeneres show recently and revealed the sequel will begin shooting next February. This puts the film on track for it’s May 2nd, 2014 release date. [ComicBookMovie]

Hello followers of Nerd Bastards. How are you enjoying our nations Independence Day? Personally, I started the day off listening to Bill Pullmans speech in ID4. Then I grabbed case of Samuel Adams Summer Ale. Which, I plan to suck down in preparation for my viewing of The Amazing Spider-Man. I’m seeing it this afternoon then off to some parties. Oh, it’s rumored that one of parties will have a stripper who’s promised to shoot a firework out of here ass. Awesome, right? But I digress. I’m hear to get your opinion on The Amazing Spider-Man. From what I hear, I’ll need to suck down that case of beer…

I’ve read quite a lot of reviews so far, including our own Sarah Moran’s thorough observation of the film. The general consensus seems to celebrate the actors and their small moments, but the rest of the film is hand-fart worthy. I’ve gathered that the retelling of Spidey’s origin — yes, again —, the severe lack of action, the Lizard being a typical silly villain, the muddled narrative regarding Parker’s parents and having to except the whole restructuring of the franchise (only 10 years since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man swung into theaters) doesn’t leave much for Spidey fans to love.

Is that right? Or, does the character development and performances out shadow all of those faults? I guess I’ll find out for myself when I see it.

Tell me though, was this film a solid base on which to rebuild the franchise? Do they have the right actors, and just need refine the storytelling and action sequences a bit more? Sound off in the comments below. Spoilers are expected and accepted.

Having only been five years since we last saw Spidey on the big screen, the timing of The Amazing Spider-Man hurts more than it helps. Add in the facts only two months ago we were hyperventilating over The Avengers and in a few weeks we’ll be in the midst of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight finale, and it only gets worse for the web-slinger. That being said, The Amazing Spider-Man is by no means a bad movie, or a bad super hero movie. It’s just that now, in 2012, the stakes for the super hero movie have been raised and Spider-Man falls a little short.

But like I said, Amazing Spider-Man is a good movie. Marc Webb scores big by crafting a believable origin for the teen hero that is more emotionally nuanced than Raimi’s and having a cast who deliver great performances across the board. The web-slinging and parkour acrobatics look fantastic, so good you’ll be craving more. And there’s one of the film’s hiccups, for a summer action flick there should be more heart-pounding action to keep you on the edge of your seat. The film’s highlights come not from spectacle or the climatic battle, but rather from the quiet moments between characters.

In less than a week we’ll all have seen The Amazing Spider-Man and will be able to weigh in on the great debate: should Sony have rebooted the franchise so soon? It really is the question hanging over the movie. For as craptacular as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 was, the first and second were truly, spectacular, and a lot of fans are still upset Sony decided to restart the whole franchise only five years later.

But, come on guys, you’ve got to admit what we’ve seen of Amazing Spider-Man looks goooooood. Not convinced? Here’s three more clips released today,

I really feel this movie has cracked the code, and not to knock the Raimi pictures, but Amazing Spider-Man looks to be the truest representation of the character yet. Agree or disagree?

Studios releasing way too much of a film before it hits theaters is nothing new. I for one, have come to accept and ignore the marketing onslaughts. However, I gotta shake a shit stick at Sony Pictures. They went way overboard in promoting The Amazing Spider-Man. Honestly, I’ve never seen so many trailers, teasers, featurettes, clips and TV spots for a movie in my life (Except for maybe Prometheus). It’s fucking nuts, man. If you’ve been following it all you can literally say you’ve seen the whole damn film. Don’t think so? Here, I’ll prove it how bad it is….

Some Vimeo user going by Sleepyskunk ended up taking all of the trailers, clips and featurettes that Sony Pictures has released for Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man, and edited together a 25-minute cut of the film that basically gives us the whole story! Check it out below (SPOILER WARNING, duh! )

Admittedly, I didn’t watch the video. I didn’t want to completely spoil myself. I assume, though, Sleepyskunk was able to stitch enough of the film together to completely ruin the movie. And shame on Sony for giving him enough of their own marketing materials to allow him to do that.

Obviously, 25 minutes of footage still means there are 110 minutes of the film we haven’t seen, but 25 minutes is far too much. I mean come on, that’s an unreasonable amount product to give away as a “Free Sample”. Wouldn’t you agree?

Stan Lee, the all-father of comics, is high on my lists of people I want to sit down and have a drink with. I’d love to get him drunk and hear some stories. I was a little jealous when I saw that Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb actually got to do this. That lucky bastard! It seems the only way to get some time with Lee is to make a super hero movie. Kickstarter here I come…

In a ploy to have comic books fans buy into this Spider-Man reboot, Webb sat down with Stan Lee for “Cocktails with Stan.” Lee doesn’t actually get drunk, but he does get super excited about a glass of vodka. Check out the interview with host Jenna in the video below:

OK, so the round table wasn’t as epic as you though it might be. Regardless, Stan is such a funny old man. I love hearing him speak. Oh, and that panel that Lee was talking about was a story of Spider Man fighting the Lizard, ironically.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

I have a general rule about movies I’m interested in. I will watch the initial theatrical trailer only. That’s it! No clips, spots or featurettes. I want my viewing experience to be pre-judgment free. With The Amazing Spider-Man however, I find myself watching everything the Sony marketing machine throws at me. I guess this means I’m not too interested in the movie. And truth be told, I’m really not…

Too much of the initial trailer rubbed me the wrong way. I can’t stand the new moto-cross inspired costume. I’m irked at the retconning of Spidey’s origin (trailers implies he was a super test tube baby) and the CG looks like a sub-par theme park attraction. Bargh!

The one thing I DO like… is the cast. Primarily Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Garfield delivers the SM snark we know and love from the comics. And Stone? Well… let’s just she looks mighty pretty with blonde hair. If anything, these two will distract me enough from all the farty stuff I mentioned about.

But, that’s enough from me…

Here we are. Another day, another Spider-Man clip. Two clips actually. The first one features Spider-Man and The Lizard beating the hell out of each other.

See what I mean about it looking like sub-par theme park attraction?

The second clip (11th in the line), courtesy of Sky Movies, shows the chemistry between Gwen and Peter.

OK, I’m a sucker for soft tender moments and this clip certainly charmed me. These two indeed have great chemistry. I’ll go see just for them.

Synopsis:

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

We have another new addition to the archive of “shit that almost happened but didn’t and thus doesn’t matter”. Actually, this is our first and probably our only entry to STAHBDATDM. I mean, really, reflecting on unexecuted ideas is torturous and pointless. In the game of “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve”… nobody wins. Anyhow, for a good “curses” moment, here’s a tale of how The Avengers almost had a Spider-Man Easter egg.

Our friends at Latino Review, who don’t usually post stuff unless it’s legit, got word that Sony and Marvel Studios were very close to slipping in something from The Amazing Spider-Man into Joss Whedon’s superfucking-tastic film.

Here’s what was reported:

Imagine my surprise when I heard a rumor that the Oscorp Tower from Amazing Spider-Man was “this close” to becoming part of the sky line for Avengers. (Hint: pretty surprised)

Here’s the story – last week, The Amazing Spider-Man’s production designer J Michael Riva (he passed away recently after suffering a stroke at the age of 63). Not only did he design the Oscorp Tower for ASM, but he has a staggering resume of awesomeness including The Goonies, The Color Purple, A Few Good Men, Congo, Evolution, and the upcoming Django Unchained.

Oh – And the Iron Man movies.

That design overlap, and the stunning look of the Oscorp Tower (seriously stunning) was enough for Marvel Studios and Sony to have the discussion about inserting Oscorp into The Avengers skyline. The Unified Marvel Manhattan Skyline almost existed.

By the time the Oscorp building was fully designed, The Avengers digital Manhattan was already basically rendered and there was some up-conversion that needed to go down, so – for timing – it was scrapped.

BUT – Sony and Disney were going to let this happen. THAT’s the key thing here. Timing just didn’t work out.

Holy waffles! We missed out on a 1 second shot of a building in a movie! Whoa…

Excuse my sarcasm. In all seriousness, talk about a missed opportunity! That would have been such a neat little nod to the fans. After all, Spidey eventually teams up with the Avengers in the comics and he is part of the Marvel universe.

If anything, this story – if legit – means that Sony wants to work with Marvel Studios instead of those assholes at FOX. That means there may be potential for future involvement for cross merging their licensed characters.

They still have time to edit Stark Tower into the TASM New York skyline…

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